Christmas in Konoha
by nomi-sama
Summary: It's wintertime and everyone in Konoha Village is preparing to celebrate Christmas. It's been months since Sakura last saw Sasuke, but who appears to her Christmas Eve night?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1  
  
It's been about five months since Sasuke-kun left. I remember when Ino and I fought over him. I loved him more than any other guy. Now he's gone. And so is Orochimaru.  
  
I've thought about all the things that could've happened to him. He could've become Orochimaru's slave. He could've given up his body and Sharingan to Orochimaru. He could he dead right now.  
  
I think about him everyday. Some nights I cry. It's hard to stay happy in such a joyful season.  
  
I heard the doorbell ring. I went downstairs to see who it was.  
  
"Hinata," I said when I saw my friend at the door.  
  
"Hello Sakura," the Hyuuga girl said shivering.  
  
"Come in," I told her. "It must be freezing out there."  
  
"It is," she said, and I watched the perfect white snow fall from the sky.  
  
"So, what did you come here for?"  
  
"Well, I thought we could do some planning for Christmas."  
  
"It's not fun without Sasuke-kun," I said automatically.  
  
"He's been gone for almost five months now," Hinata said. "You've got to learn how to let go. You can't let love control your life."  
  
Hinata was right. But I couldn't let go of Sasuke-kun.  
  
"Well anyway," Hinata said. "I thought we could spend sometime with Naruto and other friends and have fun and do Christmas shopping."  
  
"Without Sasuke-kun," I muttered.  
  
"Stop thinking about Sasuke!" Hinata shouted. Her loud voice surprised me. "Why can't you try to be happy with the people you've got right now? I know you love Sasuke, but you've got friends too. There's me and Naruto and Ino and even you sensei, Kakashi-sensei."  
  
Hinata was really right. I closed my eyes. I've got to let go. Sasuke-kun isn't the only person I love. I've got a lot of friends. I said sorry to Hinata.  
  
"It's okay," she told me. "Just don't forget about the people other than Sasuke." I smiled.  
  
"You wanna start shopping right now?" I suggested. She grinned and approved of my suggestion. We put on our coats and left the house.  
  
"So, who are you gonna get presents for?" I asked Hinata.  
  
"Naruto-kun," Hinata said, "and you. And my teammates, Kurenai-sensei, Neji- nisan, my father, and my sister.  
  
"I see," I said. "You, Naruto, Kakashi-sensei, Ino, my parents, Tsunade- sama - "  
  
"Tsunade-sama?" Hinata wondered.  
  
"Yes. She's helped many people recover, like Lee-san and Sasuke-kun." Then we both heard a voice from behind.  
  
"Yo, Sakura!" Kakashi-sensei said happily. I smiled. "What are you two girls doing?"  
  
"We're Christmas shopping," I told him.  
  
"A gift for me?" Kakashi-sensei suggested. I giggled. Hinata let out a small laugh too. "I just have to tell you one thing, Sakura. The next Chuunin Exam is coming after Christmas. So don't lay back on your training."  
  
I nodded. I was definitely going to participate in the exam. But without Sasuke-kun, my group will only be me and Naruto. Maybe Asuma-sensei would let Ino come to our group because Shikamaru was already a chuunin. But it's Christmas time. I shouldn't worry too much about the Chuunin Exam.  
  
"Where do you want to go?" I asked Hinata. She shrugged. I looked around. I suggested that we look around in a ninja equipment store.  
  
"Sugoi!" Hinata said when we entered the shop. We immediately began glancing around everywhere. There were many things that I had never seen before. My eyes caught attention to a particularly strange weapon. I asked Hinata what it was.  
  
"It looks like a kunai," she said. "But the shape is a lot different from a regular one."  
  
Hinata had found the items she wanted. She got ointments, and interesting forehead protector, and one of the strange kunais. I chose pretty much the same things. We paid for the items, but right before I left, I saw weights. I picked them up. They were heavy, but not heavy enough. I asked a worker for the heaviest pair of weights. He gave them to me with a confused look on his face (what ninja girl would want the heaviest weights in a store?). I could barely pick them up. Then I bought them.  
  
I caught up with Hinata, who was waiting outside.  
  
"This should be enough for today," I told her. We lugged our bags back to my house. I had too much trouble. The weights were killing my arms. I didn't try to look as though I was carrying something that was a hundred tons. I decided it was good training.  
  
"I'm going to start wrapping my gifts," Hinata said when we were back at my house. "The ointments are for Naruto, Shino would probably like this kunai. . ."  
  
* * * * *  
  
We spent our whole afternoon and evening wrapping gifts and talking. It was 9:00 PM before I noticed. I told Hinata what the time was.  
  
"Eh?" she said. "Um, maybe I should get going."  
  
"It's okay," I told her. "Today was fun with you."  
  
Hinata smiled at her. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow."  
  
"Oh, you can't come over tomorrow," I said.  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Because Kakashi-sensei invited me to hang out with him and Naruto and Ino and Shikamaru. Sorry Hinata."  
  
"I-it's okay."  
  
"Maybe I can ask Kakashi-sensei if he'll let you come along with us."  
  
"No, it's okay."  
  
"You sure?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"A-alright."  
  
"Bye!"  
  
"Goodnight! Bye!"  
  
Hinata left my house and went down the village streets to her own. I watched her run through the frozen, bitter air. I wondered what was going to happen on Christmas day. Things are just perfect. Nothing bad could happen, like Lee-san going through surgery or Naruto going on an important mission. I just want a time where everything is happy and nothing bad will happen.  
  
But there's one burden that will remain in my heart. Sasuke-kun. 


	2. Chapter 2

Nomi: Sorry minna! I know I haven't been updating for so long. I had writer's block, then I started three new stories and joined FictionPress. But I hope you liked the first chapter, please read & review!  
  
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Chapter 2  
  
I WATCHED THROUGH THE WINDOW AT THE WHITE SNOWFLAKES GENTLY FLYING DOWN FROM HIGH IN THE SKY. It must take a million years to cover the entire world. And a million years to get over Sasuke-kun.  
  
I took off my forehead protector and set it on my dresser next to the picture of my team. Then I thought about how stupid I was, fighting over Sasuke-kun with Ino. She and I are friends now.  
  
I thought about how stupid I was, thinking that Sasuke-kun liked me. He never did. And he never would now.  
  
I thought about how stupid I was, being mean to Naruto and focusing all on Sasuke-kun. Naruto is my friend. Now I realize how Naruto and Sasuke-kun felt about each other. And me.  
  
I thought about how stupid I was, trying to be the best academy student in my class to impress Sasuke-kun. There are so many more ninjas better than me, like Lee-san and Hinata and Naruto. I'm such an idiot.  
  
I'll never be able to see Sasuke-kun again. I'm so weak, because I can't let him out of my life. But at least I still have friends and people I can depend on.  
  
I heard a knock on my window. I looked to see who it was. Naruto and Kakashi-sensei were standing outside.  
  
"You ready, Sakura?" Kakashi-sensei asked me. I nodded and told them to meet me by my front door.  
  
"Yo, Sakura-chan!" Naruto said happily outside.  
  
"Hi Naruto, hi Kakashi-sensei!" I said.  
  
"We still have to go get Ino and Shikamaru," Kakashi-sensei told me. "I bet I know where they are."  
  
"Where?" Naruto and I asked.  
  
"With Asuma and Chouji, eating at a food place."  
  
Naruto and I laughed. We followed Kakashi-sensei down the street where Ichiraku Ramen was. Naruto begged and wined to go and have some ramen, but Kakashi-sensei told him that we had to go get Ino and Shikamaru first. Then we saw them through a window.  
  
I knocked on the window. "Shikamaru! Ino!" They looked at me, then said a few words to Asuma-sensei and left. We met them outside.  
  
"Where are we going?" Ino asked.  
  
"Naruto wants to go to Ichiraku Ramen," Kakashi-sensei told everyone They all walked down the snow-filled street. Kakashi-sensei popped up next to me.  
  
"Sakura," he said. "Christmas is coming up in a few days. Would you mind if we could use your house to host the Christmas party?"  
  
I smiled. "Christmas party? Sure!"  
  
"Good. I'm inviting all the genins, so have your house prepared for Christmas Eve night." I nodded. Soon, we arrived at Ichiraku Ramen. Naruto grinned and ran in.  
  
"Welcome!" the man at the counter said. "Ah! It's Naruto! And who have you brought with you?"  
  
"My girlfriend Sakura and Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said.  
  
"You forgot about us!" Ino said hotly. "I'm Ino and this is Shikamaru." Shikamaru looked s if he was going to fall asleep.  
  
I frowned when Naruto called me his girlfriend. And once again, I thought of Sasuke-kun. I wondered how much more happy I would be if he was still around.  
  
We ordered our bowls and ate quietly. Naruto ate to his fullest but protested that he could've eaten more bowls of ramen if we didn't decide to leave. We went to look at the Ninja gift shop. I saw many of the same things I saw yesterday, but Ino and Naruto were the only ones who ended up buying something.  
  
Hours later we left for home. I went to my room and sat down and cried. Only a miracle would bring back Sasuke-kun. I knew Lee and Naruto like me. Why didn't they go after me when Sasuke-kun left? Lee knew I liked Sasuke. And Naruto knew that too. And then I realized how nice everyone was being to me. If only a miracle would happen.  
  
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Nomi: Gah, why am I writing about Sasuke anyway when I hate him? Oh well. I hope this fic turns out to be a nice drama. I will update soon! 


	3. Chapter 3

Nomi: Yay! It's chapter 3! I hope you guys enjoy the chapter. This is my best fic yet, so please review!

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Chapter 3

"Ohayo, Sakura!"

I opened my eyes. One other pair was looking straight back into mine, a pale white pair.

I moaned and yawned. "Hinata…"

"It's Christmas Eve!" she said happily.

I popped straight out of my bed. "Christmas Eve already??? Wow, the days have passed so quickly."

"You were probably too focused on Sasuke," Hinata said.

I frowned Sasuke-kun is the biggest half of my life, but my Christmas would be ruined if my thoughts kept being like this.

"I forgot all about the Christmas party!" I said.

"Christmas party?" Hinata asked.

"No one told you? It's at my house tonight. Kakashi-sensei told mostly everyone, but maybe not a few people. Please come and tell anyone who doesn't know yet."

"That sounds like fun. I'll tell Neji-niisan and my teammates."

"Good. I'm so excited!"

"Hmm, I thought you were going to start crying because Sasuke isn't coming."

I frowned again. "Hinata!"

Hinata giggled. "Oh, I almost forgot."

"What?"

"Lee sent you a present. Well, when I was on the way here, I saw Lee, and he told me to give this to you." Hinata handed me a gift box.

"This is from Lee-san?" I said, examining the gift box. "I'll open it tomorrow then." And I almost forgot about the weights that I bought. I'll give them to Lee-san tonight. I would be able to exchange gifts with everyone tonight.

"Do you want to hang out until the party?" Hinata asked.

"Oh, I have to clean up the house and all," I replied. "As you can see, it's in no condition for a party. Do you want to help?"

"Sure!"

"Thanks. Let's start with my own room. This is going to be the room for the girls."

"Room for the girls? You mean you're going to split up boys and girls?"

"Yep. Not the whole time though. The big living room downstairs will be the main room."

"I see.'

I began making my bed. Hinata cleared and organized the things on my nightstand and desk. Lastly we cleaned up clothes and items on the floor. I made sure there was an organized amount of space for all the girls.

"Let's move on to the room for the boys," Hinata said when we finished.

"That's going to be the guest room down the hall," I told her. "No one uses the guest room, so it's perfectly clean. It could use some dusting up, though."

"Then let's dust it," Hinata said. We moved down to the guest room, each of us carrying a fluffy duster. Hinata dusted the bed and closet and I did the tables and lamps and nightstands. When we were finished, we put our dusters away and went downstairs.

"We'll need the kitchen and the living room, so let's start cleaning the kitchen –" But my mom was already doing the job. "Okasan!"

My mom smiled. "I've got this kitchen covered. You go do the living room."

"How did you know about the party?" I asked. "I forgot all about it and never told you."

"Mou, you're such a irresponsible girl," my mom joked. "Kakashi-sensei told me just yesterday."

"Arigato," I said with Hinata.

"That means we don't have to do the kitchen," Hinata said. I nodded and went with her to the living room.

"There's a bunch of things scattered on the floor," I said. "So we'll start with cleaning the floor. You'll probably know where the items belong." We were on our knees in a second crawling all over the living room.

Hinata stumbled upon a small box abruptly. The lid of the box flew off to reveal many pictures in the container. "This must be yours, Sakura," she said. She held up the photos in the box. All of them were of Sasuke.

I yanked the pictures out of Hinata's hands and grabbed the white box they were in. Hinata noticed that some of the pictures were very old. Sasuke was only in his first year of the academy in a few, and others when he was a little older.

"You've been collecting those for a long while, haven't you?" Hinata said.

"Yes," I answered. "From when I first met Sasuke-kun."

"Why? I mean, I know you like Sasuke, but why?"

"Ino and I were having a stupid, childish fight one day over who could get more Sasuke-kun pictures. Soon, I forgot all about winning against Ino that it became natural."

"So you like Sasuke-kun _that _much," Hinata said. Soon we continued cleaning and after a while, we finished.

It was clearly afternoon now. My stomach was very empty from all the work and the fact that I hadn't eaten all day yet. It was about 3 PM or 4 now. The party would start in an hour or so. I told Hinata that she should go home to get ready for the party and I also thanked her for helping today. After she left, I went up to my room to put away the box of Sasuke-kun pictures. Then I heard the doorbell ring.

"Sakura!" I heard my mom call. "Could you get the door? I'm busy right now."

"Okay!" I replied, hurrying downstairs. It was probably someone just early for the party.

I opened the door. I could feel the cold and bitter air outside. A few snowflakes landed on me. But there was no one there. I could just smell his scent though. I stood at the door, cold and shocked, for maybe a miracle had just happened.

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Nomi: Oooh! My best chappie yet. I will update soon… Very soon. I promise. Please R&R!!!


	4. Chapter 4

Nomi: GOMENASAI MINNA-SAN!!!! I HAVEN'T UPDATED FOR SOOOO LONG! I BROKE MY PROMISE! BUT I PROMISE I WILL NOW!!!!!!!

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Chapter 4

I welcomed Shikamaru into the house. He was the fifth person to arrive for the party. I decided to keep the door unlocked now, for I had just put a sign on it that said

Welcome to the Christmas Party! Please enter! 

So far there were five people now: Kakashi-sensei, Ino, Shikamaru, Hinata, and Neji. Hinata told me that she had convinced her cousin to come, and deep down inside, Neji probably did want to come.

I was surprised to see that Naruto was the next person to arrive. I predicted that he would be lost, along with Kakashi-sensei. But I was glad he was here. 

Kiba and Shino came next, the rest of Hinata's team. By now, most of the senseis were here already. Then I saw Lee-san, Gai-sensei, and Tenten come through the door. Lee-san looked at me and smiled, so I smiled back. 

Chouji had arrived with Asuma-sensei a while ago, and he began eating his own food he brought along right away. The sand group was the last to arrive. Gaara's attitude had calmed down a lot since the last five months, so the party wouldn't turn into a disaster with him.

Now that everyone was here, Kakashi-sensei was going to make a short announcement. 

"Minna-san!" he said, catching everyone's attention. The guests quieted down and faced towards him. "Welcome to this year's Christmas party at Haruno Sakura's house. First the boys and girls will split up, then we will have dinner, and after that we can exchange gifts." Kakashi-sensei directed everyone to put their gifts at one of the empty corners in living room. Soon there was a large pile there.

Everyone followed me upstairs to the two rooms for the girls and boys. 

I waited for all the girls to fill into my room. After everyone was in, I closed the door and went to sit on my bed. 

"I was thinking of this activity we could do," I said.

"What is it?" Tenten asked.

"We'll each pick a name of one of the boys," I started explaining. "Whoever's name we get, we have to make a Christmas card for that person."

"Hmm, sounds interesting," Ino said. I could tell that she wished Sasuke-kun was here too.

We began drawing names from one of my small baskets. Ino was the first to reach her hand in. She drew Shikamaru's name and smiled slightly to herself. Tenten got Neji and Hinata got Naruto. Temari looked disgusted when she picked Kiba's name. I had Gaara.

Most of the girls were seated at my desk. Hinata and Ino sat on the floor. They began working, but I was just sitting on my bed. It wasn't the fact that making a card for Gaara would disgust me; it was just that I had too much about Sasuke-kun on my mind.

"What's wrong?" Hinata asked me. I looked at her. She could tell what was wrong. We decided not to talk about it and kept our mouths shut. Hinata continued working. 

A while after, we heard a knock on my bedroom door. I went to open it.

"It's dinnertime," Shikamaru said.

"Hai," I answered. The girls began getting up and leaving their cards and the art supplies where they were working. We began exiting the room. I stayed behind to organize the art supplies so they wouldn't get lost and be just laying around.

"You need help?" Hinata asked.

"No, go on ahead downstairs," I replied. "I'll be down in just a minute.

"Okay." Hinata left my room. I heard her walk down the stairs.

I picked up a few boxes of markers and set them on my desk. Several fell onto the floor. I looked outside through my window. It was snowing. The night was beautiful. Then I noticed something on my windowsill. It was a small piece of paper. I picked it up and unfolded it. 

Merry Christmas Sakura 

****

it said. I wondered whom it was from. The handwriting looked a bit familiar to me, but I still didn't know whose it was. I could tell it was written quickly… in a sort of messy cursive.

I left it on my bed and ran downstairs to join everyone else. First it was Sasuke-kun's scent, and now an unsigned note. I had a mysterious feeling about what would happen next.   


	5. Chapter 5

Nomi: *****jumps and leaps in joy* Yay! Chappie update! Please enjoy!

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Chapter 5

Everybody was in the dining room eating dinner. I decided to sneak away early. I had lost my appetite thinking about Sasuke-kun and I didn't want to be around such happy people when my mind was filled with sadness. 

It felt like such a lonely night just because Sasuke-kun wasn't there. I found that I was coughing often and sniffling my nose. I was all heated and stuffed. My skin felt hot but my heart was cold. I opened the screen back door to get outside where it was cool. The snow had calmed down and there was a nice breeze as if it were a summer night. 

The stars were completely visible in the vast sky. Finding Sasuke would take longer than counting every star. I leaned against the rail of the back porch. Why couldn't I simply be happy? It was a big party on a Christmas Eve night. I was the only one not smiling, not laughing…

It was the least expected person to come outside onto the porch where I was. Lee-san came out and closed the door behind him. 

"Sakura-san," he said. "What's wrong?"

"I looked down. "Nothing. I was just hot inside."

"Something's wrong," Lee-san said. "I can see it in your eyes."

"I'm just…" I started. "I…"

"Is it Sasuke-kun?" Lee-san guessed.

"Y-yeah."

"I miss him too. But you can't get your happiness down. Think positive thoughts."

The tears started flowing out. I wanted to scream as loud as I could in the frozen air.

"I don't just miss him, I love him! What if he's dead now?! What if he's gone forever?!

"Gai-sensei," Lee said quietly, "told me about Kakashi-sensei. Kakashi-sensei has lost everyone he loves. But still you see his happy face and warm smile. Gai-sensei said that if you have lost someone you love, you can't let he or she pull down your life. You'll find yourself with an extraordinarily heavy life. Kakashi-sensei went on and made the best out of his life that he could. You should be able to, too, Sakura-san. You are strong. You have a strong, loving heart. Same with Tsunade-sama. Gai-sensei told me that she lost her little brother and the man she truly loved. That way she was determined to make my surgery a success. 

I was speechless. My heart had just opened its eyes. Hinata was right all along.

"I'm sorry," I said very softly. 

"You don't need to say that to _me_," Lee-san said. "Say it to your heart."

"Why do you care so much about _my_ feelings?" I asked.

"I love you, Sakura-san," Lee-san told me. "Remember?"

He turned around to head back into the house.

"Arigato… Lee-san…" I said right before he closed the screen door. I wanted to stay outside a little longer. I was truly thankful, from the bottom of my heart. What Lee-san told me changed the whole mood of my mind. But what I realized was that not just Kakashi-sensei and Tsunade-sama were examples. Lee-san himself was one. He loves with unrequited love. He loves me even though he knows I love Sasuke-kun. I should love Sasuke-kun no matter where he is or how he feels about me or no matter how cursed he has turned. 

I closed my eyes and started dreaming. I wasn't asleep but my thoughts were controlling themselves. They forced themselves to be happy. And I realized this was the happiest I had been ever since Sasuke-kun left. So this is true love.

I opened my eyes to see a faint shadow in the darkness of the night. It moved closer to me. I turned around and almost barely saw who the figure was. But I could smell and feel his presence again. I froze in awe. 

"_Merry Christmas, Sakura,_" the figure said. The voice was so soft that I could barely tell who he was. "Thank you… for everything." Then his presence was gone. I turned and looked around me. No one was there. It was a miracle, though. 

I decided to go back inside now, and keep the incident to myself. What I felt was completely different from what I had felt ten minutes ago, or from the past several months.

Now I could be happy with everyone else. And I could be with Sasuke forever if I kept my unrequited love or him. 

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Nomi: Did you like did you like it did you like it????? Hurray for all you SasuSaku fans! *still hates Sasuke though* By the way, I'm starting a sci-fic fic on fictionpress. Please read it when it is posted! 


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